Reel McCoy wins the
47th annual Islamorada Sailfish Tournament
Captain George McElveen led anglers Larry Amoyette (Silver Springs, FL), Sean Smith (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Kiki Ferrer (Islamorada, FL), Justin Miller (Islamorada, FL) to the winner’s circle of the 47th Annual Islamorada Sailfish Tournament. The team released a total of 16 Sailfish over the three day event. The Reel McCoy team has also won an entry into the 2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship in Cabo San Lucas. The Reel McCoy took the lead on the first day, as mate Lee Gahagen grabbed the leaders, releasing 8 Sailfish. The Olympic Gold was hot on their heels with 7 releases. Day two was another great day for Reel McCoy. They released 7 fish giving them a two day total of 15 releases. Captain Alex Adler on the Kalex was coming on strong and had 12 fish by the end of the second day. Kalex would release 3 Sails on the final day, but Reel McCoy would release one more Sailfish before it was over guaranteeing them a front row seat at the awards ceremony.
Kalex anglers Jim Verner (Duck Key, FL), Anthony DelDuca (Naples, FL), Josh Ardis (Duck Key FL), and Joe Flynn (Greenwood, SC) took home second place honors. With the help of mates Matt Guthrie and K.J. Zeher the team released 4 fish the first day, 8 fish the second day and 3 Sails on the final day. Captain Alex Adler’s Kalex would take home second place trophies with a total of 15 Sailfish releases.
Third place Relentless would have a nice steady pick of Sails. Anglers James David, Jimmy David and Debbie David (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and Jimmy Hendrix (Tavernier, FL) would release 5 fish on the first day, 3 on the second and 5 again on the final day. Both Olympic Gold and Catch 22 would also release 13 Sailfish by the end of the 3rd day. It was Captain Paul Ross with mates Ben Ekblom and Scott Stoky that got the job done first and the Relentless would take third place with 13 fish on time.
It was the family team of Benny Spaulding Sr, Benny Spaulding Jr, both from Tavernier FL fishing with Captain Kenny Spaulding aboard the CaribSea that would be in hot pursuit of the High Point Angler award and Bill Hirni Memorial Trophy. Benny junior released a total of 7 fish to take these honors and is in the lead for the Gold Cup Series High Point Angler and Championship Ring.
Most Tagged fish went to the Olympic Gold. Captain J.C. Cleare with Anglers Max Tower (Palmetto Bay, FL), Reggie Rodriguez (Coral Gables, FL), Doug Mientkiewicz (Coral Gables, FL), Fulton Ivy (Key Largo, FL) tagged 7 of the 13 Sailfish they released.
James David fishing with mom and dad aboard the Relentless was the Grand Champion Junior Angler. James who is 11 released 2 Sailfish. Second place junior angler Shawn MacMullin from Key Largo, who fishes the tournament every year, was the only angler on his dad’s boat Get the Gaff. Shawn released 2 Sails as well.
The Islamorada Sailfish Tournament is the first leg of the Florida Keys Gold Cup Sailfish Championship. The Reel McCoy, Kalex, and Relentless are all participating in the Gold Cup event. The next leg of the series is the Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament January 20th thru the 22nd. The champions will be crowned at the Islamorada Fishing Clubs January Sailfish Tournament on the 27th 2011.
27 Boats competed in the 2010 Islamorada Sailfish Tournament with a total of 92 anglers. 205 Sailfish were released out of the 257 called in hook ups. 18 fish were tagged. The Islamorada Sailfish Tournament is the primary fund raiser for the Islamorada Charter Boat Association. With the help of our major sponsors Caribee Boat Sales, Yamaha Outboards, TIB, World Wide Sportsman, and the splendid parties put on by Whale Harbor Restaurants and Marina, the Islamorada Sailfish Tournament will continue the fight to preserve and protect the fabulous fishing in the Florida Keys. More information on the Islamorada Sailfish Tournament can be found on the web site ww.islamoradasailfishtournament.com
